Viennese Whirls Recipe

These crisp, melt-in-the-mouth piped cookies are filled with a creamy coffee butter cream. Needless to say, they are delicious served with Viennese coffee or hot chocolate.

Ingredients: (Makes 20)

175 g/6 oz/¾ cup butter

50 g/2 oz/½ cup icing (confectioners') sugar

2.5 ml/½ teaspoon vanilla essence (extract)

115 g/4 oz/1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour

50 g/2 oz/½ cup cornflour (cornstarch)

Icing (confectioners') sugar and (unsweetened) cocoa powder, to dust

For the filling:

15 ml/1 tablespoon ground coffee

60 ml/4 tablespoons single (light) cream

75 g/3 oz/6 tablespoons butter, softened

115 g/4 oz/1 cup icing (confectioners') sugar, sifted

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Grease two baking sheets. Cream together the butter, icing sugar and vanilla essence until light. Stir in the flour and cornflour and mix until smooth. Using two tablespoons, spoon the mixture into a piping (pastry) bag fitter with a 1 cm/½ inch fluted nozzle.

Pipe small rosettes, spaced well apart, on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden. Using a metal spatula, transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To make the filling, put the ground coffee in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small pan to just below boiling point and then pour it over the coffee. Leave to infuse (steep) for 4 minutes, then strain through a fine sieve into a clean bowl.

Beat together the butter, icing sugar and coffee-flavored cream until light and thoroughly combined. Use to sandwich the cooled cookies together in pairs. Dust the whirls lightly with a little icing sugar and cocoa powder.

Happy Baking,

Carol